J. Walter Thompson is an international advertising agency headquartered in New York. It has more than 200 offices in over 90 countries. With a network of nearly 10,000 marketers, it has an influential presence in the global advertising sector.[2]

As the fourth-largest agency network in the world, J. Walter Thompson is one of the key subsidiaries of the WPP Group (NASDAQ:WPPGY).

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J. Walter Thompson traces its origins to the Carlton & Smith agency, which opened its doors in 1864, one of the first known advertising agencies in the United States.[3] In 1878 James Walter Thompson purchased the agency for $500, along with the furniture for an additional $800, and gave it his own name.[4]

Thompson, who was serving as a U.S. Marine, had first been employed by Carlton & Smith to sell space in religious publications.[4] Under his leadership, the agency became the exclusive buyer of advertising space in many American magazines and periodicals.[3] By 1889, 80 percent of the advertising in the United States was placed through J. Walter Thompson.[5]

Expansion followed. J. Walter Thompson became the first American agency to expand internationally with the opening of J. Walter Thompson London in 1899.[6] The business subsequently expanded across the globe, being one of the first American agencies in Egypt, South Africa and Asia.[7]

J. Walter Thomson was among the first agencies to employ writers and artists to create interesting advertisements for their clients, replacing the standard ads created by in-house businesses.[8] It was also the first agency to provide a wide range of advertising services to clients, including, copy, layout, package design, trademark development and rudimentary market research.[8] Many of these methods can be seen in notable work the agency has produced, including, work for Kraft Cheese that resulted in the creation of the grilled-cheese sandwich, a campaign for Swift & Co. that added measurements to sticks of butter, the Toys "R" Us Kid slogan and jingle, De Beers diamond ads (A Diamond is Forever) and the "I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner" campaign.[9]

The agency is credited with hiring the first female copywriter, Helen Lansdowne Resor.[10] While with the agency, she pioneered ideas including celebrity testimonials, sex appeal and was responsible for developing its reputation as an agency where bright young women could succeed.[8] Lansdowne went on to become the first creative director in the industry. To honor this legacy, in 2014 J. Walter Thompson announced a $250,000 scholarship opportunity called the Helen Lansdowne Resor Scholarship. It will assist and promote talented female creative advertising students who aspire to join the ranks of creative leadership.[11]

In 1987, J. Walter Thompson was acquired by the WPP Group.[1] In 2005, the agency was rebranded by shortening its name to JWT; but in 2014, during its 150th anniversary, it returned to the name J. Walter Thompson.[12]

^Applegate, E. (2012). Stanley B. Resor and the J. Walter Thompson Company: 1908-1961. In The rise of advertising in the United States: A history of innovation to 1960 (p. 134). Lanham: Scarecrow Press